10 ms·

I'm full nomad right now - driving my Jeep around Africa for 2 years - something like 80,000 miles through 30 countries over 2 years. [1] I'm absolutely loving

by grecy 9y ago

I'm full nomad right now - driving my Jeep around Africa for 2 years - something like 80,000 miles through 30 countries over 2 years. [1] I'm absolutely loving it. I will never go back to full time 9-5 5 days a week. At this point, I don't even consider it life. Previously I drove Alaska to Argentina - 16 countries over 2 years and 40,000 miles. I also loved every second of that! [2] [1] http://theroadchoseme.com/africa-expedition-overview http://theroadchoseme.com/africa-expedition-overview [2] http://theroadchoseme.com/expedition-overview http://theroadchoseme.com/expedition-overview

icebraining 9y ago
Nice, glad it's working out for you! Just curious, you wrote that you funded the first expedition by saving from your salary, but how are you paying for the second?
- IkmoIkmo 9y ago
  The first trip was in 2009-2011. His second trip started in 2016. He must've put in some work inbetween. He's also monetised his traveling with books, partners etc. More importantly though, from the info he posted, it shows he spends about $1200 a month traveling mostly through South-America. Which isn't too crazy, gdp per capita in the continent is about $450, Africa is even 'easier', in that the gdp per capita is about $150 a month. So he's often spending a multiplier (2-7x) of the national average on a minimalistic 'sleep 500 days of my 650 day trip in a tent' lifestyle. Keeping this number low is key to everything, if you don't have kids it's doable to save for such a lifestyle. He does mention he worked along the way, really curious as to what kind of jobs he landed and if that meant he stayed in any one place for longer periods of time! I've got a few friends here and there who've got a few hundred thousand in equity sitting in their home and modest savings. At a 5% annual return, one could spend $15k a year of their $300k investment and live such lifestyle in perpetuity.
  - nickthemagicman 9y ago
    The modified jeep alone was 50k or more. Gas is 5k.
    - IkmoIkmo 9y ago
      He said gas was 7k and the jeep was 6k, for the trip he referred to as costing 27k. The Africa trip is another jeep, the jeep itself didn't exist when he did his first 27k two year trip, and indeed he modified it a lot. Probably a lot more expensive but also not necessary. Where'd you find the 50k number?
      - nickthemagicman 9y ago
        A new Rubicon is 37k plus at least 10k of modifications.
    - grecy 9y ago
      My Jeep was not even close to 50k. I bought it used for $22,500 CAD.
      - nickthemagicman 9y ago
        Yeah but your modifications alone gotta run at least 10k. I have a van I'm modding out and a roof rack and reinforced bumper alone is 6k. The point is you have income from somewhere that allows you to be carefree with your time and money. It feels a little disingenuous when people say "I will never go back to full time 9-5 5 days a week." Like it's a choice most people have. It's like Donald Trump saying he's a great business man and you should take his advice...when he really inherited a ton of money. This is all speculation on my part though and I really wish you the best no matter what your situation is. Looks like an amazing trip! Stay safe!
        grecy 9y ago
        Sure, the modifications were around $10k, which means the total price was A LOT lower than $50k. And no, I don't have "income from somewhere". I worked a 9-5 for 5 years and saved every penny I could, now I'm living on those savings. Yes, I'm trying to earn some money on the road, and it's currently covering about 25% of my monthly expenses. > It feels a little disingenuous when people say "I will never go back to full time 9-5 5 days a week." Like it's a choice most people have. I think it's sad you think like that. It is a choice, if you want it to be. It's hard work, and requires changing around your priorities, but it absolutely is a choice. I have met hundreds and hundreds of people doing it [1], including families with kids, including people from every walk of life you can image. [1] I'm interviewing interesting people I meet living on the road - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNiCe5roBX1gdbLoAclKw9RTgo-_kAYAP https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNiCe5roBX1gdbLoAclKw...
- grecy 9y ago
  I worked a 9-5 for 5 years, saved every penny and now I'm living on that!
  - icebraining 9y ago
    Thanks! I should definitively save more :)
TeeWEE 9y ago
Driving alone around in Africa is what you consider life? I know working 9-5 is not a good life. However working on something you love, in an environment with friends and family and fun, is a good life i.m.h.o. I always have the feeling nomads always need to shout of the roofs of "how much better their life is". However I do think, what you are doing is super cool. However seeing it as "this is the only life thats worth living" is a bit extreme.
- mosselman 9y ago
  It isn’t either or: you don’t need to work 9-5 in order to have a family and friends, the only alternative being driving through Africa. He just said 9-5 isn’t life and I think he is right. I work 9-5 and now that I am a father I will beging cut down work. I find it a lot more rewarding to see my daughter starting to crawl than building some software for someone.
  - icebraining 9y ago
    If you don't mind me asking, how will you cut down work? Is your employer willing to just reduce your hours, or do you have other plan? I don't plan on cutting back yet, but I'd like to know for the future, since I've never actually met a career professional doing so.
    - mnm1 9y ago
      Be good at what you do. Do it in half the time. Work from home so no one complains that you're getting all of the work done in half the time (people will complain about everything). Of course, you have to find a position that isn't a sweatshop to begin with for this to work. Small businesses--not startups--can be good places to practice this.
    - eesmith 9y ago
      It looks like mosselman lives in the Netherlands. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15497755 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15497755 . You are in Portugal (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8029643 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8029643 ), which also has paternity leave. One difference, according to http://www.theportugalnews.com/news/portugal-among-best-for-paternity-leave/37683 http://www.theportugalnews.com/news/portugal-among-best-for-... , is that: > Portugal is the member state with the fifth longest period of paternity leave, with a potential of 21 weeks to care for their newborns. However, this report paints a different picture when it comes to the division of domestic chores. Here, Portugal joins Estonia, India, Japan, Mexico, South Korea and Turkey as among the countries where women put in three times more time on such tasks than their male counterparts. That sounds in Portugal fathers are more expected to work/be a career man, and mothers stay home, than in the Netherlands.
mosselman 9y ago
Cool. What kind of work do you do on the road? Also, if you don’t mind (ball parking is fine), what do you make and what are your expenses?
aswerty 9y ago
Love what you're doing but I've always thought of your site as more of a "Lifestyle Porn" niche. Similar in a way to the money moustache guy who retired really early. Most people aren't going to actually try for the lifestyle since chances are it wouldn't work for them (or they won't work for it) but love the idea of hacking life so you can get away from the 9-5.
- skinnymuch 9y ago
  Do you know how the Money Moustache guy retired early? I always felt something off about his blog. Some good posts for sure in isolation but as a whole it never felt right. Now it makes sense. I and most others don't have the luxury of retiring early (yet ;))
  - k__ 9y ago
    Wasn't the whole Money Moustache thing based on the fact that he and his wife had both a good income to start with? I read many things in that direction. "I made millions with real estate! I simply bought a flat, refurbished it and then either became a landlord or sold it for much more money! It's so simple even you can do it. I started with getting like 50000€ after an car accident..." "I retired with 40 and you can do it to, you just need a job that makes you 100k a year..."
  - Scalestein 9y ago
    I think he has an article that covers his finances from when he started working to when he retired. The short answer is double tech incomes and very limited spending. If your household is pulling 250k and living off 25k a year it makes retirement a lot more attainable.
  - syd_ 9y ago
    He advocates for prioritizing your health, do cool free stuff instead of cool non free stuff and do not be too materialistic. The more you read, the more you understand this is not even about saving or retiring early. He retired early by having a high (but not sky high) income and saving like 50-70% of it. Nothing he did is unbelievable, you can't apply everything but you can apply a lot and it really gives benefits, no matter if your goal is to retire early or not. Plus he doesn't sell anything and doesn't fool anyone to earn money. :)
throwanem 9y ago
Good for you! You've clearly found a style of life that suits you very well, and that's something worth cherishing. But the nomad style isn't for everyone, and its challenges are as unusual as everything else about it. Since Hacker News is at least tangential to those sections of the tech entrepreneur thoughtsphere where nomadism is extolled as the best and only thing, I think this is a conversation worth having here.
chrisked 9y ago
Opened your site on mobile and first thing presented to me where 2 products on Amazon affiliate (a torch and mug) and no content nearby. Your lifestyle blog lost me there.
goldenkey 9y ago
I agree, 9-5 isn't a life. But traveling 24/7 isn't a life either. We travel to get to a destination. When you make traveling a constant inecessity it just kills the joy within it. Seems like more of a symbol of indifference rather than actual character growth.
- bromuro 9y ago
  We (nomads) don’t travel to get to a destination - the travel itself is the destination
  - goldenkey 9y ago
    You and I both know that is misleading. Travel is the same whether you are in a moving plane or cramped fake one in a movie studio. It's the places. Perhaps the ones seen transiently through the train window while in motion. But how can you bottle up traveling into a static and repeatable phenomena??
PoachedSausage 9y ago
At one point I was tempted to try buying a boat and becoming a sea gypsy, problem is boats are expensive holes in water that you pour more money into. I also have the problem that my hobby-job revolves around making and tinkering with electronics, Tesla coils, radios machines etc. I would simply get bored without access to a well equipped electronics lab and mechanical workshop. So until I can afford a super yacht it is 9 - 5 for me.
- ZenoArrow 9y ago
  > "I would simply get bored without access to a well equipped electronics lab and mechanical workshop." Could you not just use hackerspaces wherever you went? Also, if that's your hobby, why not live somewhere with great electronics markets? Living on a boat that could sail in and around the East China Sea (Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei, Tokyo, etc...) seems like it could be fun.
- Toast_25 9y ago
  Doesn't Simone Giertz do this? Maybe you should look into her.
acidburnNSA 9y ago
Any idea what your Carbon footprint it? I've always been curious about this.
- applebeesam 9y ago
  This will give you an idea for flights: https://my.flightradar24.com/ https://my.flightradar24.com/
- grecy 9y ago
  I have not figured it out, though I suspect it's lower than the average North American going to work every day. I only drive about 60 miles on average per day. I have no electricity use. I don't buy "stuff" (clothes, TV, couch, furniture).
JohnJamesRambo 9y ago
How do you afford this?

by grecy 9y ago

icebraining 9y ago

Nice, glad it's working out for you! Just curious, you wrote that you funded the first expedition by saving from your salary, but how are you paying for the second?

IkmoIkmo 9y ago
The first trip was in 2009-2011. His second trip started in 2016. He must've put in some work inbetween. He's also monetised his traveling with books, partners etc. More importantly though, from the info he posted, it shows he spends about $1200 a month traveling mostly through South-America. Which isn't too crazy, gdp per capita in the continent is about $450, Africa is even 'easier', in that the gdp per capita is about $150 a month. So he's often spending a multiplier (2-7x) of the national average on a minimalistic 'sleep 500 days of my 650 day trip in a tent' lifestyle. Keeping this number low is key to everything, if you don't have kids it's doable to save for such a lifestyle. He does mention he worked along the way, really curious as to what kind of jobs he landed and if that meant he stayed in any one place for longer periods of time! I've got a few friends here and there who've got a few hundred thousand in equity sitting in their home and modest savings. At a 5% annual return, one could spend $15k a year of their $300k investment and live such lifestyle in perpetuity.
- nickthemagicman 9y ago
  The modified jeep alone was 50k or more. Gas is 5k.
  - IkmoIkmo 9y ago
    He said gas was 7k and the jeep was 6k, for the trip he referred to as costing 27k. The Africa trip is another jeep, the jeep itself didn't exist when he did his first 27k two year trip, and indeed he modified it a lot. Probably a lot more expensive but also not necessary. Where'd you find the 50k number?
    - nickthemagicman 9y ago
      A new Rubicon is 37k plus at least 10k of modifications.
  - grecy 9y ago
    My Jeep was not even close to 50k. I bought it used for $22,500 CAD.
    - nickthemagicman 9y ago
      Yeah but your modifications alone gotta run at least 10k. I have a van I'm modding out and a roof rack and reinforced bumper alone is 6k. The point is you have income from somewhere that allows you to be carefree with your time and money. It feels a little disingenuous when people say "I will never go back to full time 9-5 5 days a week." Like it's a choice most people have. It's like Donald Trump saying he's a great business man and you should take his advice...when he really inherited a ton of money. This is all speculation on my part though and I really wish you the best no matter what your situation is. Looks like an amazing trip! Stay safe!
      - grecy 9y ago
        Sure, the modifications were around $10k, which means the total price was A LOT lower than $50k. And no, I don't have "income from somewhere". I worked a 9-5 for 5 years and saved every penny I could, now I'm living on those savings. Yes, I'm trying to earn some money on the road, and it's currently covering about 25% of my monthly expenses. > It feels a little disingenuous when people say "I will never go back to full time 9-5 5 days a week." Like it's a choice most people have. I think it's sad you think like that. It is a choice, if you want it to be. It's hard work, and requires changing around your priorities, but it absolutely is a choice. I have met hundreds and hundreds of people doing it [1], including families with kids, including people from every walk of life you can image. [1] I'm interviewing interesting people I meet living on the road - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNiCe5roBX1gdbLoAclKw9RTgo-_kAYAP https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLNiCe5roBX1gdbLoAclKw...
grecy 9y ago
I worked a 9-5 for 5 years, saved every penny and now I'm living on that!
- icebraining 9y ago
  Thanks! I should definitively save more :)

TeeWEE 9y ago

Driving alone around in Africa is what you consider life? I know working 9-5 is not a good life. However working on something you love, in an environment with friends and family and fun, is a good life i.m.h.o. I always have the feeling nomads always need to shout of the roofs of "how much better their life is". However I do think, what you are doing is super cool. However seeing it as "this is the only life thats worth living" is a bit extreme.

mosselman 9y ago
It isn’t either or: you don’t need to work 9-5 in order to have a family and friends, the only alternative being driving through Africa. He just said 9-5 isn’t life and I think he is right. I work 9-5 and now that I am a father I will beging cut down work. I find it a lot more rewarding to see my daughter starting to crawl than building some software for someone.
- icebraining 9y ago
  If you don't mind me asking, how will you cut down work? Is your employer willing to just reduce your hours, or do you have other plan? I don't plan on cutting back yet, but I'd like to know for the future, since I've never actually met a career professional doing so.
  - mnm1 9y ago
    Be good at what you do. Do it in half the time. Work from home so no one complains that you're getting all of the work done in half the time (people will complain about everything). Of course, you have to find a position that isn't a sweatshop to begin with for this to work. Small businesses--not startups--can be good places to practice this.
  - eesmith 9y ago
    It looks like mosselman lives in the Netherlands. https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15497755 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=15497755 . You are in Portugal (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8029643 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=8029643 ), which also has paternity leave. One difference, according to http://www.theportugalnews.com/news/portugal-among-best-for-paternity-leave/37683 http://www.theportugalnews.com/news/portugal-among-best-for-... , is that: > Portugal is the member state with the fifth longest period of paternity leave, with a potential of 21 weeks to care for their newborns. However, this report paints a different picture when it comes to the division of domestic chores. Here, Portugal joins Estonia, India, Japan, Mexico, South Korea and Turkey as among the countries where women put in three times more time on such tasks than their male counterparts. That sounds in Portugal fathers are more expected to work/be a career man, and mothers stay home, than in the Netherlands.

mosselman 9y ago

Cool. What kind of work do you do on the road? Also, if you don’t mind (ball parking is fine), what do you make and what are your expenses?

aswerty 9y ago

Love what you're doing but I've always thought of your site as more of a "Lifestyle Porn" niche. Similar in a way to the money moustache guy who retired really early. Most people aren't going to actually try for the lifestyle since chances are it wouldn't work for them (or they won't work for it) but love the idea of hacking life so you can get away from the 9-5.

skinnymuch 9y ago
Do you know how the Money Moustache guy retired early? I always felt something off about his blog. Some good posts for sure in isolation but as a whole it never felt right. Now it makes sense. I and most others don't have the luxury of retiring early (yet ;))
- k__ 9y ago
  Wasn't the whole Money Moustache thing based on the fact that he and his wife had both a good income to start with? I read many things in that direction. "I made millions with real estate! I simply bought a flat, refurbished it and then either became a landlord or sold it for much more money! It's so simple even you can do it. I started with getting like 50000€ after an car accident..." "I retired with 40 and you can do it to, you just need a job that makes you 100k a year..."
- Scalestein 9y ago
  I think he has an article that covers his finances from when he started working to when he retired. The short answer is double tech incomes and very limited spending. If your household is pulling 250k and living off 25k a year it makes retirement a lot more attainable.
- syd_ 9y ago
  He advocates for prioritizing your health, do cool free stuff instead of cool non free stuff and do not be too materialistic. The more you read, the more you understand this is not even about saving or retiring early. He retired early by having a high (but not sky high) income and saving like 50-70% of it. Nothing he did is unbelievable, you can't apply everything but you can apply a lot and it really gives benefits, no matter if your goal is to retire early or not. Plus he doesn't sell anything and doesn't fool anyone to earn money. :)

throwanem 9y ago

Good for you! You've clearly found a style of life that suits you very well, and that's something worth cherishing. But the nomad style isn't for everyone, and its challenges are as unusual as everything else about it. Since Hacker News is at least tangential to those sections of the tech entrepreneur thoughtsphere where nomadism is extolled as the best and only thing, I think this is a conversation worth having here.

chrisked 9y ago

Opened your site on mobile and first thing presented to me where 2 products on Amazon affiliate (a torch and mug) and no content nearby. Your lifestyle blog lost me there.

goldenkey 9y ago

I agree, 9-5 isn't a life. But traveling 24/7 isn't a life either. We travel to get to a destination. When you make traveling a constant inecessity it just kills the joy within it. Seems like more of a symbol of indifference rather than actual character growth.

bromuro 9y ago
We (nomads) don’t travel to get to a destination - the travel itself is the destination
- goldenkey 9y ago
  You and I both know that is misleading. Travel is the same whether you are in a moving plane or cramped fake one in a movie studio. It's the places. Perhaps the ones seen transiently through the train window while in motion. But how can you bottle up traveling into a static and repeatable phenomena??

PoachedSausage 9y ago

At one point I was tempted to try buying a boat and becoming a sea gypsy, problem is boats are expensive holes in water that you pour more money into. I also have the problem that my hobby-job revolves around making and tinkering with electronics, Tesla coils, radios machines etc. I would simply get bored without access to a well equipped electronics lab and mechanical workshop. So until I can afford a super yacht it is 9 - 5 for me.

ZenoArrow 9y ago
> "I would simply get bored without access to a well equipped electronics lab and mechanical workshop." Could you not just use hackerspaces wherever you went? Also, if that's your hobby, why not live somewhere with great electronics markets? Living on a boat that could sail in and around the East China Sea (Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Seoul, Taipei, Tokyo, etc...) seems like it could be fun.
Toast_25 9y ago
Doesn't Simone Giertz do this? Maybe you should look into her.

acidburnNSA 9y ago

Any idea what your Carbon footprint it? I've always been curious about this.

applebeesam 9y ago
This will give you an idea for flights: https://my.flightradar24.com/ https://my.flightradar24.com/
grecy 9y ago
I have not figured it out, though I suspect it's lower than the average North American going to work every day. I only drive about 60 miles on average per day. I have no electricity use. I don't buy "stuff" (clothes, TV, couch, furniture).

JohnJamesRambo 9y ago

How do you afford this?